Iraq: 11 killed, 17 injured in attacks

ERBIL, DEC. 26 - At least eleven people were killed and 17 others were injured in various attacks across Iraq on Monday, according to police sources.

In Baghdad, a suicide car bomb apparently targeting the Ministry of the Interior went off near the ministry killing 3 people and injuring 14 others.

Following the attack, a second car bomb was thwarted at the ministry's main gate while trying to break into the ministry building.

"Guards at the main gate of the ministry managed to prevent a car bomb attack. The car was driven by a suicide bomber who was shot dead by the guards before he managed to detonated the car," a security source in the ministry told AKnews.

Attacks in Baghdad have seen a surge recently after disputes between sectarian leaders escalated. Iraqi's Shiite Prime Minister has been accused of attempts to sideline the Sunni minority by getting Sunni leaders involved in armed attacked in order to sue them.

In Fallujah city, Anbar province, Insurgents shot dead six policemen and injured three others as they attacked a security checkpoint.

As in the majority of cases, the gunmen escaped arrest after they carry out their attacks on security forces or civilians.

Anbar has been one of the unstable provinces in Iraq since 2003. From 2006 onwards it witnessed relative calm as tribal leaders decided to join the government in its efforts to fight insurgent groups like al-Qaeda. Over the past few months, it has seen some of the deadliest attacks on the government offices.

In a separate attack in the city of Mosul, about 465 km north of Baghdad, insurgents raided the house of an Iraqi army officer and killed him and his father.

"The officer and his father tried to escape as they went upstairs to jump onto the next doors roof. But the gunmen caught them on the roof and killed them while the rest of the family screamed for help" Brig. Gen. Mohammed al-Jubouri told AKnews.

Mosul - 362 km north of Baghdad – is the capital of Nineveh province. It is the site of daily bombings and killings. Mosul is the bloodiest of all Iraq's cities when population is taken into account, according to Iraqi Body Count. In recent months targeted attacks against government officials and military officers have been stepped up, often making use of silenced weapons and roadside bombs.

Raber Y. Aziz (AKnews)

Why do we always choose to burn when we want to resolve a conflict?

In this part of the world, fire seems to be the only means for resolving any sort of dispute. Women set fire to their own bodies to end disputes with their families. Media offices are set on fire to silence them. Liquor stores and massage parlors are burnt to put an end to whatever some people don't seem to like. And political party offices are burnt if they are accused of whatsoever that is not to the liking of the powerful parties.

I just don't get it. Why do we, Kurds, are always ready to choose to burn when we want to resolve a conflict? Could this be an intrinsic characteristic of the Kurdish man who consciously chooses to not choose the peaceful dialogue as a tool of resolving disputes? May be holding discussions and dialogues does not conform to the Kurdish man's masculinity and thus hurts his pride?

Almost all conflicts can easily be avoided and resolved no matter how big they are. Th torching of the liquor stores and political party offices in Zakho earlier this week needs to be seriously taken into account in order to prevent future re-occurrence.

A few dozen people should have never attacked beverage stores and massage parlors and torch them. This is really dangerous for the Kurdish region that has been able over the past two decades to establish some sort of order, though not perfect. I do not want to talk about personal freedoms, for now, we all agree that one is free to drink alcohol and that Christians and Yazidis are entitled under Iraqi law to have liquor shops - just put that aside. Let's talk about it from a different point of view. If those people who torched the liquor stores and massage centers really were angry about the existence of those places in the town and wanted to send a message to the authorities to do something about them there were several peaceful ways they could have used such as writing a memo to the authorities and requesting, for instance, the moving of those places to other places away from civilian populations and central town. Or they could have campaigned for their cause by having a petition signed by as many as people and then sending this to the authorities, or even they could stage a demonstration where they could call on the authorities to find ways to reconcile the liquor stores and the angry people. All these are characteristics of a democracy.

On the other hand, it should have never been allowed for a few dozen people, whether or not fans of, or encouraged by, a certain political party, to torch Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) offices and accuse it of being behind the attacks. Why do we have courts and the security forces, then, if we just judge everything on our own without letting the security forces to investigate the incidents and without letting the courts to do their jobs?

If a political party was really responsible for the violence, it should have been investigated and the facts should have been shown to people supported by evidence and then let the courts decide what their fate would be. But the Kurdish desire for fire just did not let this happen.

I am really astonished. How can we so easily torch, in a moment of outrage, all that has been built in years? How can we torch such headquarters, offices, and other public places like liquor stores, all of which paint a colorful image of democracy?

The real question now is: Where is the rule of law in Kurdistan that the authorities always talk about? What are the security forces paid for, to stand idle and watch on as a bunch of rioters set fire to liquor stores and party offices? In fact, why can people so easily set fire to public property? And what will be the next step of the authorities? Will they enforce law or will try to silence the issue in behind curtains agreements?

Raber Y. Aziz

US military leave behind hot market for Iraqis

Kirkuk, Nov. 7 (AKnews) – US equipment and stuff, that US military get rid of as they are preparing to withdraw from the country by the end of this year, have created a hot market for the people of Kirkuk and the neighboring provinces.

Such equipment include US-made air conditioners, heaters, washing machines, refrigerators, dryers, lighting equipment, radios, television and so on. "And people love buying these equipment because US-made stuff are good quality and strong" says one tradesman.

"These stuff are especially popular among people because there are so many Chinese stuff in the market which are of poor quality" says the man – declining to be named for security reasons. He says they get the stuff from the main US base in Kirkuk – which used to be Kirkuk's airport before 2003 – Tikrit and Mosul cities.

The man, coming from Mosul, also put on the show his US-made vacuum cleaners, satellite receivers – and bodybuilding tutorial CDs. "Kirkuk is an excellent market" he says.

He turned to the new business after his old one three years ago came to an end. "Three years ago, I was selling M16 rifle magazines, bullet-proof vests, helmets and modern communications equipment and military knives and compasses" which would be smuggled out of Mosul and Ramadi through interpreters working with the US military "with help from some [US] soldiers"

Abu Afnan is a customer; he has found what he was looking for in the market here: in Kirkuk: An electrical heater that consumes little electricity but gives the desired heat.

"This is a chance for us here to buy these stuffs because we are in dire need of them" he says. But there is another motivation for buying the stuffeagerly: after the US forces withdrawal these equipment will no longer be in the market.

"The US make is excellent and everybody want it in contrast with the Chinese, Iranian or Turkish made goods" he said showing his dislike for the current goods in the Iraqi market which are "ether non-originals or poor quality commercial stuff"

Iraqi tradesmen either get the equipment and stuff from the US bases, after the dump them in desert areas, through a mediator for very low prices or they for free, according to Bestun Dalawi, another one engaged in the business.

Dalawi has been working in the business since 2003 and his income so far "is very good and I have been able to buy a house and a modern car."

"This has become the source of my living" he says. But he is now concerned about his future as the US forces have only until the end of the year in Iraq according to a security deal signed between Washington and Baghdad.

"We may have one more year in this business. After that, we will have to think about another business" Dalawi says.

Abdullah al-Janabi, another tradesman, is different from the rest of the people engaged in the business – he has specialized in recovering cosmetics and beauty stuff from those bases and selling them in Kirkuk's used stuff markets.

"My stuff sell very fast. They are originals and include some of the top world brands. Women love these" al-Janabi says.

Al-Janabi used to sell grocery before he took up the new business. Now he is thinking of going back to the old job when the US forces withdraw from Iraq.

The US military has handed over recently some 400 military bases to the Iraqi forces as they prepare to withdraw from Iraq by the end of this year. They usually get rid of the stuff that hey do not want to move back to the US considering the costs of transportation.

The US military maintain only 11 bases throughout Iraq currently, according to Hussein al-Asadi – an Iraqi government representative during the handover of the military bases to the Iraqi forces. And these bases are expected to be handed over to the Iraqi forces in mid-December.

Reported by Abdullah al-Amiri, Edited by Raber Y. Aziz (AKnews)

Remains of Kurds killed under Sadddam to be returned to Kurdistan

Erbil, Sept. 7 - The remains of hundreds of Kurds killed under former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein are expected to be returned to Kurdistan Region in the coming days, says Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) minister of Anfal and Martyrs Affairs.

The remains of the 479 victims were found in mass graves in Diwaniyah province, 180 south of Baghdad, who were killed during the Anfal Operations in the 1980s by the Iraqi army.

"The excavation of all the mass graves in Diwaniyah have been finished. Tomorrow, we will start preparations for returning them to their home town for proper burial" Aram Ahmed told AKnews.

The victims were all from the Qadir Karam town, 60 km south east of Kirkuk. The oil-rich province of Kirkuk was subjected to an Arabization policy implemented by Saddam Hussein's regime where mainly local Kurds replaced by Arabs resettled from central and southern Iraq.

Anwar Omar, director of the mass graves at the ministry fo Anfal and martyrs affairs told AKnews that the remains of the Kurds found in Mahari 1 and Mahari 2 of the Diwaniyah mass graves were all Kurds killed during the 1988 phase of the Anfarl campaign.

Anfal, or Anfal Operations was a  series of military operations that began in 1986 and lasted until 1989, and was headed by Ali Hassan al-Majid. The Anfal campaign included the use of ground offensives, aerial bombing, systematic destruction of settlements, mass deportation, firing squads, and chemical warfare, which earned al-Majid the nickname of "Chemical Ali".

Anfal, officially conducted between February 23 and September 6, 1988, would have eight stages. Thousands of civilians were killed during the campaigns that stretched from the spring of 1987 through to the fall of 1988.

The attacks were part of a long-standing campaign that destroyed approximately 4,500 Kurdish villages in areas of northern Iraq and displaced at least a million of the country's estimated 3.5 million Kurds.

The Supreme Criminal Court of Iraq which was set up after the 2003 US led war against Iraq to try former members of Saddam Hussein's government, has recognized mass killings of Kurds by the former regime as genocide. This includes the chemical attack on the Kurdish city of Halabja in 1988 which killed 5,000 and left some 10,000 inured, as part of a military campaign known as Anfal. 

According to the Iraqi prosecutors, as many as 182,000 Kurds were killed including women, aged, and children.

reported by Rebin Hasan, Edited by Raber Y. Aziz (raber.younis@gmail.com)

Kurdish refugee forced to choose between voluntary and forced deportation by Swedish authorities

Erbil, August 21  – A Kurdish refugee in Sweden who has been living for eight months under the threat of being forcefully deported to Baghdad has finally been warned to either go home voluntarily or face being handed over to the police who are authorized to treat him the way they wish to force him get on board on a plane bound to Baghdad later this month.

He is a 21-year-old Kurdish refugee from Koya city, east of Erbil – the Iraqi Kurdistan capital – who left Kurdistan in 2009 in quest of a new life in Europe. He is now living a life of uncertainty and hardship in Karlskrona after his asylum claim was rejected by the Swedish authorities. 

Awara says he is the "victim of a deal between the Iraqi government and some European countries, including Sweden, to forcefully deport Iraqi refugees, in particular Kurds, to Baghdad"

Awara is not the only person to allude to an alleged behind-the-curtains deal in which the Iraqi government will receive the deported refugees at Baghdad airport without protest in return for its debts to the countries concerned. The existence of such a deal however has been refuted by the Swedish authorities.
                                                                                                
When he left Kurdistan, Awara had dreams of making an easy living in Europe and helping his family back at home. He left because he felt there was "injustice" in Kurdistan. 

"I left because of the political and social injustice in Kurdistan… I had two older brothers who  had graduated from college and yet had failed to find a job in the public sector," Awara said. He was only 16 when he dropped out of school thinking it of no use to study in a region where college graduates remain unemployed. 

"I thought to myself, what is the use of studying when I know that there is no future. So I dropped out with the hope of doing some work instead of studying – which was a waste of time for me," he said.

Awara decided to migrate to Europe when he was 19 and was encouraged by the idyllic stories he heard from friends and others of the life people lived in Europe with plenty of opportunities for employment and far away from social injustices.

Another source of encouragement was the plethora of people smugglers who told positive tales of life in Europe and how easy it is to get there and be granted asylum.

He embarked on his journey to Europe in 2009. First, he entered Turkey and from there entered Greece. "I stayed in Greece for about one and a half years. Later, I crossed into Italy where I slept for two months on the streets because I had nowhere to go," he said.

Awara then had to cross France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany before finally making it to Sweden. During his long journey, Awara experienced all kinds of suffering and hardships; sleeping on the streets, sometimes hungry and cold; walking for days and the ubiquitous racist abuse.

He said Europeans in general - including the Swedes - refer to Kurds and people from the Middle East as "black heads" and look down on them.

"For instance, if you board a train and a Swedish woman sees you, she will try to hide her bags as if you are a thief and will look at you with disdain. To be quite honest, Europe is not the paradise it seems to be."

With a sigh, Awara said that "If I really knew this was the reality of Europe, I would never have come here."

Yet he had to put up with all that, because he had hopes for life there and his family in Kurdistan had high hopes for him. He hid from the eyes of the authorities for a while in fear of being captured and deported to Iraq.

But his patience had its limits and living in hiding was not the kind of life he had dreamed of, so he turned himself in to the authorities hoping they would grant him asylum, or at least let him stay without fears of being chased and deported.

He turned himself in to the police in November 2011 but the court rejected his claim and all his dreams evaporated.

"Now the authorities have told me that if I sign a document that attests I will voluntarily leave Sweden for Iraq they will give me US$5,000, however, if refuse to sign it, they will hand me over to the police to treat me the way they want and force me by any means to board the plane to Iraq."

"They have given me until August 26 to make up my mind," he said.

Awara spoke of his misery after everything he's been through to carve out a new life for himself.

 "I am about to go crazy as I see all my dreams, my sufferings, all the money I spent and the dangers I faced on the trip were in vain."

When he left Kurdistan, Awara had hoped that a better destiny than that of his two brothers lay ahead.

The last thing on his mind was that all his dreams would prove to be in vain and that he would wake up to a reality no less  bitter than that he was running from in Kurdistan.

"I spent eight months on the trip from Kurdistan to get to Sweden, I suffered a lot and spent about $20,000," Awara said, "and now they want to end everything in four hours," referring to the flight from Sweden to Baghdad.

"I don't know what I am returning to in Kurdistan, I have nothing there, there is no life for me there."

By Raber Y. Aziz (raber.younis@gmail.com)

Syria for PKK: the US-Turkish deal in the region

Turkish fighter planes have started to bombard northern Iraqi Kurdistan Region since Wednesday. So far, they have strike over 250 targets in the mountainous region of Qandil Mountain, Avashin, Khwakurk and Zap and other territories.

The latest Turkish strike in Sangasar sub-district, north west of Sulaimaniyiah city, left at least six civilians dead who were so charred dismembered by the rocket fire that they couldn't even be identified.

All this is happening amid silence of the Iraqi government and their Kurdish authorities in Kurdistan have only "protested" against the attacks that have displaced hundreds of families and damaged villages by releasing a statement calling on the Kurdish separatist group, namely the PJAK and PKK, to not use Kurdish territories to stage cross border attacks against the neighboring countries.

The KRG and the Iraqi government are too weak to be able to sound a firm attitude towards the Turkish attacks on Kurdish territories. And the international community is also turning a blind eye.

Some believe that these attacks by the Turkish military on alleged PKK hideouts in northern Iraq were part of Erdogan's promises in the elections. I believe that Turkey always wanted to attack the northern Iraq, but the US was hindering its designs. And these attacks came only after the US gave Turkey the green light to do so, but this is part of a deal between the countries: Syria for PKK.

Turkey was understood as trying to convince Syrian authorities to do reforms because it did not want its long-standing ally to fall - that could open the borders open to Kurdish separatist groups to infiltrate into Turkey. Turkey also opposed US plans to impose more sanctions against Syria.

On August 18, as US president Barack Obama called on the Syrian president Bashar al-Asad to step down accusing him of "torture and slaughter" against his own people, the Turkish planes bombed targets in northern territories of Kurdistan Region.

The same day, Obama ordered to freeze Syrian government assets in the United States, banned U.S. citizens from operating in or investing in Syria and prohibited U.S. imports of Syrian oil products.

What is going on here is a US-Turkish deal whereby the US will allow the Turkish forces to stage air strikes against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, in return, Turkey will not oppose US sanctions on Syria and its efforts to bring the Asad regime down.

Kurdish refugee forced to choose between voluntary and forced deportation by Swedish authorities

Erbil, August 21 – A Kurdish refugee in Sweden who has been living for eight months under the threat of being forcefully deported to Baghdad has finally been warned to either go home voluntarily or face being handed over to the police who are authorized to treat him the way they wish to force him get on board on a plane bound to Baghdad later this month.

He is a 21-year-old Kurdish refugee from Koya city, east of Erbil – the Iraqi Kurdistan capital – who left Kurdistan in 2009 in quest of a new life in Europe. He is now living a life of uncertainty and hardship in Karlskrona after his asylum claim was rejected by the Swedish authorities. 

Awara says he is the "victim of a deal between the Iraqi government and some European countries, including Sweden, to forcefully deport Iraqi refugees, in particular Kurds, to Baghdad"

Awara is not the only person to allude to an alleged behind-the-curtains deal in which the Iraqi government will receive the deported refugees at Baghdad airport without protest in return for its debts to the countries concerned. The existence of such a deal however has been refuted by the Swedish authorities.

When he left Kurdistan, Awara had dreams of making an easy living in Europe and helping his family back at home. He left because he felt there was "injustice" in Kurdistan. 

"I left because of the political and social injustice in Kurdistan… I had two older brothers who  had graduated from college and yet had failed to find a job in the public sector," Awara said. He was only 16 when he dropped out of school thinking it of no use to study in a region where college graduates remain unemployed. 

"I thought to myself, what is the use of studying when I know that there is no future. So I dropped out with the hope of doing some work instead of studying – which was a waste of time for me," he said.

Awara decided to migrate to Europe when he was 19 and was encouraged by the idyllic stories he heard from friends and others of the life people lived in Europe with plenty of opportunities for employment and far away from social injustices.

Another source of encouragement was the plethora of people smugglers who told positive tales of life in Europe and how easy it is to get there and be granted asylum.

He embarked on his journey to Europe in 2009. First, he entered Turkey and from there entered Greece. "I stayed in Greece for about one and a half years. Later, I crossed into Italy where I slept for two months on the streets because I had nowhere to go," he said.

Awara then had to cross France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany before finally making it to Sweden. During his long journey, Awara experienced all kinds of suffering and hardships; sleeping on the streets, sometimes hungry and cold; walking for days and the ubiquitous racist abuse.

He said Europeans in general - including the Swedes - refer to Kurds and people from the Middle East as "black heads" and look down on them.

"For instance, if you board a train and a Swedish woman sees you, she will try to hide her bags as if you are a thief and will look at you with disdain. To be quite honest, Europe is not the paradise it seems to be."

With a sigh, Awara said that "If I really knew this was the reality of Europe, I would never have come here."

Yet he had to put up with all that, because he had hopes for life there and his family in Kurdistan had high hopes for him. He hid from the eyes of the authorities for a while in fear of being captured and deported to Iraq.

But his patience had its limits and living in hiding was not the kind of life he had dreamed of, so he turned himself in to the authorities hoping they would grant him asylum, or at least let him stay without fears of being chased and deported.

He turned himself in to the police in November 2011 but the court rejected his claim and all his dreams evaporated.

"Now the authorities have told me that if I sign a document that attests I will voluntarily leave Sweden for Iraq they will give me US$5,000, however, if refuse to sign it, they will hand me over to the police to treat me the way they want and force me by any means to board the plane to Iraq."

"They have given me until August 26 to make up my mind," he said.

Awara spoke of his misery after everything he's been through to carve out a new life for himself.

 "I am about to go crazy as I see all my dreams, my sufferings, all the money I spent and the dangers I faced on the trip were in vain."

When he left Kurdistan, Awara had hoped that a better destiny than that of his two brothers lay ahead.

The last thing on his mind was that all his dreams would prove to be in vain and that he would wake up to a reality no less  bitter than that he was running from in Kurdistan.

"I spent eight months on the trip from Kurdistan to get to Sweden, I suffered a lot and spent about $20,000," Awara said, "and now they want to end everything in four hours," referring to the flight from Sweden to Baghdad.

"I don't know what I am returning to in Kurdistan, I have nothing there, there is no life for me there."

By Raber Y. Aziz (raber.younis@gmail.com)

Ismael's story - the long road to Europe

When Ismael Pirbal, now 26, embarked on his journey from Shaqlawa, Kurdistan, to Europe, he had many colorful dreams of a new life in Finland: Easy living, easy money, easy love. Ismael had already dropped out of school one year before finishing high school.

He was only 17 when he joined the security forces (Peshmarga) to help out his family financially. He stuck with it for four years. He had his own excuse for leaving Kurdistan. Life in the Peshmarga was not the kind of life he dreamed of. In Europe he could live well and provide for his family too. Hearing all the stories of success from his friends, he couldn't wait to go.

"I decided to go for it, I no longer wanted to stay in Kurdistan," Ismael said with a sigh, "I struck a deal with someone [a smuggler] whereby he would take me there for US$4,500."

Travelling into Syria legally, he stayed there for 7 days, and embarked on an illegal journey from there into Turkey.  "I stayed in Turkey for 45 days. They [the smugglers] had squashed us into a room that would cater for two people, but there were 32 of us in the one room," he said."We couldn't go out and we almost starved to death. The food was never enough for us."

"Before we started the journey, the smugglers told us there only 8 of us on the journey, but it turned out to be 85. And when setting off to Greece through water routes, there were 32 immigrants on board the boat that would normally carry 10. They said the voyage would take two hours, but in fact it was 8 hours"

Along the Greek coast, boats patrol for smugglers. Larger numbers of migrants have an increased risk of being spotted by the border authorities and subsequently being arrested and deported. Luckily, Ismael's boat made it through, but his trials were not over. The group had to walk for days through the wilderness.

"The smugglers had everything. They never ran out of food, money or anything else they need.  As for the migrants, they don't give a damn what happens to you. There was this migrant with us who blacked out due to his tiredness, we told the smuggler that he couldn't walk any more. He came to him and called him names and made him walk by kicking him."

When they finally reached the spot where they could rest, exhausted, some of the migrants lit cigarettes, but the smugglers were not happy about this. One ran over and stabbed one of the smokers in the thigh.  "He was covered with blood all over," said Ismael. "We had to help him walk when we resumed the long trek again. We had been walking for five days now. We did not have any food to eat, some of our friends snuck out of the group and handed themselves in to police to go back to Kurdistan, but we continued the journey."

From Greece, Ismael crossed into Switzerland with two other migrants, they stayed in the first Swiss city to take some rest – sleeping in toilets. Ismael continued his journey from Switzerland to Germany and from there he planned to cross into Finland. He was so close to his final destination he could almost smell it.

"But I was not lucky. Just on the German border, they arrested me and took our fingerprints and sent us to the detention camps. They told me wherever I go from now they will arrest me and return me to Germany. But after sleeping there one night there, I decided that I had to risk it and go to Finland. At the same time, I inquired about smugglers who would take people through Sweden."

Ismael found a smuggler. He and his friends reached an agreement with the smuggler who took them to Denmark and then to Sweden and from there into Finland.

"When we reached Finland, I turned myself in to the authorities. But after 3 months in detention centers, they found my fingerprints taken in Germany." Desperate to stay in Finland he decided to take drastic action. "I cut myself with a knife, but it was no use. They detained me and put me in prison for 25 days. After that they deported me to Germany."

Still undeterred, he planned to return to Finland. But what could he do about his fingerprints? This time surely they would find them even faster. He decided to disfigure his hands using  chemicals. "I had disfigured my hands so much that the device wouldn't read my fingerprints at all. Therefore, they sent me to prison to wait for the day of my trial." He was in prison for more than two months. Despite all this struggle he was once more deported to Germany.

He tried a third and fourth time to get to Finland, succeeding at last: "I made it to Finland this time, I stayed at a relative's in Malmo, and they helped me so much. I fell in love with a Finnish girl there where I stayed for about a year." Things were finally looking up for Ismael.

"I did not turn myself in, but because I cared for the girl, I wanted to make her happy, I decide to hand myself in. She accompanied me to the police station. We wanted to get married" Ismael said. However, while in custody awaiting processing Ismael things took a bitter turn.

"The girl betrayed me with one of my best friends who I considered my brother." Ismael recalled how he introduced his girlfriend to his friend who he had looked up to so much, never suspecting that she would leave him and live with his "brother' instead.

Finally he was once more deported to Germany and has been living there for over four years. He has no status as an asylum seeker and no permanent leave to remain. He lives in a constant state of limbo. "I have not seen a court since I came here. Nobody asks who I am and what I do."

He says he now has to work and pay 90% of his earnings to the German authorities to allow him stay in the country as a form of penalty for leaving and returning to the country so many times.
"Now I am working for the German government, but I don't get paid for working. I work in school repairing broken tables and cleaning. I work for 10 euros per hour but I only get 1 euro out of it."

Germany is home to one of the largest Kurdish communities in Europe. Figures from the German Immigration Office show that from 2000 and until April 2011, some 84,000 Kurds have asked  for asylum from Germany. The figures indicate that the number of Kurdish asylum seekers from Iraq peaked in 2001 rising to 6,759 a year and dropped in the following years. However, it has started to rise again. During the first four months of 2011 some 888 Kurds from Iraq registered for asylum indicating that 2011 could see more than 3000 Kurds from Iraq enter Germany.

Ismael is just one of the many migrants who went through a great deal to make it there: "I suffered so much that will never forget it as long as I live. Even now as I recall this, I feel like it is happening all over again."

By Raber Y. Aziz (AKnews)
RY/PS

23/07/2011 19:33

Turkish media: Three PKK fighters killed in protracted gunfight

Sulaimaniyah, June 28 (AKnews) – Three Kurdish rebel fighters were killed in clashes with Turkish forces backed by helicopters, Turkish media sources reported today.

Turkish News Agency, Cihan, said the three Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants were killed in a gunfight that lasted for hours in Tunceli city in Dersim region.

The PKK's media official Roj Wilat confirmed that clashes broke out between PKK and Turkish forces, but did not give details of casualties.

"The military operations and bombardments of the Turkish army in the border territories continue" said Wilat, "the Turkish army continues to attack the PKK guerrillas"

Formerly a peaceful group made up of students, the PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 to fight for an independent state for the country's Kurds.


Around 45,000 people have died in the war against the Turkish military so far, many of them civilians.

Last week, the PKK set two conditions for the Turkish state in order to extend a ceasefire it had unilaterally declared: inclusion of jailed PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, in the resolution of the Kurdish Issue, and a public pledge from the country's leaders to end military operations against the outlawed party and commit to peaceful reconciliation.

The PKK has declared 8 unilateral ceasefires over the years in favor of finding peaceful means to resolve the issue,  but the Turkish state - which along with the US and the EU lists the organization as a "terrorist group - has officially refused to enter into negotiations with them.

By Raber Y. Aziz, with contributions from Dilshad Saifaddin.
RY/PS

28/06/2011 21:47

 

PKK refutes "declaration of war"

Erbil, June 22 (AKnews) - Turkey's outlawed armed group Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) refuted responsibility for an improvised explosive device explosion that killed two Turkish policemen in Dersim on Wednesday - described by Turkish Interior Minister as declaration of war by the PKK, .

The bombing in Dersim city, which Turkish media sources said was a remotely detonated bomb attached to a police vehicle, comes just days after the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the group to extend a ceasefire they had announced earlier this year.

PKK foreign relations official Ahmed Deniz told AKnews that "We are not aware of the explosion in Dersim today, and we do not know who has carried out the attack"

Deniz refused to give further comments "since i am not aware of this act"

Following the attack Wednesday, Turkish Interior Minister Osman Gunes accused the PKK of being behind the attack which he described as a "declaration of war"

'The bombing was simultaneous with the PKK ceasefire.. doesa ceasefire mean to place bombs here and there to kill members of the Turkish security forces?" the Turkish news agency Dogan quoted Gunes as saying.

Turkish authorities often accuse the PKK for armed attacks inside the country.

PKK has waged a bloody war against the Turkish state for almost three decades that has claimed around 45,000 people many of them civilians.

On Monday, the PKK said in a statement carried by Firat news agency, a news agency close to the PKK, that PKK would extend a ceasefire on two conditions: the inclusion of jailed PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, in the resolution of the Kurdish Issue, and a public pledge from the country's leaders to end military operations against the outlawed party and commit to a peaceful reconciliation.

The PKK has declared 8 unilateral ceasefires over the years in favor of finding peaceful means to resolve the issue,  but the Turkish state - which along with the US and the EU lists the organization as a "terrorist group - has officially refused to enter into negotiations with them.

Writing by Raber Y. Aziz, reporting by Dilshad Saifaddin (AKnews)

22/06/2011 19:58

 

US forces barred from Basra province

Basra, June 22 (AKnews) – Basra provincial council has ordered a ban on US forces entry into the province in a show of no support for a US forces stay extension in the country beyond the 2011 deadline. 

According to the provincial decree which was passed by the council with a vote of 26 members out of 36, no US troops ill be allowed to enter Basra province.

"The provincial council called on the US forces to evacuate the Basra Airport" Basra provincial council media official Hashim Luaibi told AKnews, "To fill the gaps in the face of armed groups who continue to attack the airport because of the presence of the US forces"

The US forces use Basra airport for their military base in the province. Last week, a US helicopter killed one person and injured two whom they described as insurgents trying to fire missiles at the US base.

An Iraqi lawmaker told AKnews that it was civilians who were targeted by the US helicopter not insurgents.

The local government in Basra has also called on the US forces to compensate victims of their military operations, according to Luaibi.

Luaibi did not make clear whether the decision had anything to do with the recent US helicopter attack in Basra or a call by Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr who called on all Iraqi provincial councils in late May to prevent the US forces from entering their provinces.

Al-Sadr is famous for his continuous resistance to the US presence in Iraq. His movement's military wing Mahdi Army waged a deadly war against the US forces and Iraqi army in 2004 following closure of his newspaper and attempts to arrest him.

Al-Sadr's followers accuse the US of committing "crimes" against the Iraqi people while stealing the wealth of the country.

Head of the Ahrar Bloc in the Basra provincial council, part of al-Sadr's bloc, Mazen al-Mazeni told AKnews that the decision came after the bloc persistently pressed on the council for such a move.

"This decision is considered to be a strong blow in the face of the occupying forces following the crimes they committed against the people of Basra" he said, "this will benefit the country"

According to a 2008 security agreement, the US forces have to leave the country by the end of 2011. The US forces currently keep some 45,000 troops in Iraq.

US officials expect from the Iraqi government to request Washington at some point to keep part of the US forces in Iraq after the US troops leave in 2011.

The Iraqi government is expected to disclose its final position regarding those forces in late August.

Written by Raber Y. Aziz, reported by Baha al-Kadhemi (AKnews)

22/06/2011 20:34

Government official raises US$7 m claim against Baghdad newspaper

Erbil, June 22 (AKnews) - Spokesman for the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC  has filed a lawsuit against a Baghdad-based daily newspaper al-Mada demanding US$7 million on charges of libel.

Qassim Atta, spokesman of Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) - a security body reporting directly to the Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki - has raised the claim against the al-Mada's CEO Fakhri Karim and three other staff members of the daily after it published a series of articles, columns and that criticized the way the security forces and government authorities treated protesters.

Baghdad witnessed protests earlier this month as a 100-day period, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had set for his minister to improve performance, expired. The protesters called on Maliki to leave the country because the performance of the government was poor.

Clashes broke out between the protesters and pro-Maliki demonstrators who were said to have been paid by Maliki to chant pro-Maliki slogans.

Al-Mada newspaper accused the authorities of trying to counter anti-government protests by misleading media coverage. In some of the articles published by the newspaper, Atta has been particularly criticized for releasing in accurate information and contradictory comments.

The lawsuit has been criticized by press freedom groups saying the authorities want to silence the media and restrict press freedom.

An Iraqi press freedom group, Society for Defending Press Freedom (SDPF), said in a statement the lawsuit was "unreasonable" and aimed at restricting press freedom by "muzzling the media"

Al-Mada newspaper chief editor Ali al-Hussein said they had received on Monday the official writ from the court indicating that Atta had demanding a compensation of 8 billion Iraqi Dinars (about US$7 million)

"The association considers that the insistence of government officials to exploit the articles of criminal defamation, inherited from the previous era (former Iraqi regime) to raise unfair and illogical lawsuits against journalists and media," the statement read.

The groups went on to say the lawsuit does not only threaten press freedom "gained after 2003 but revokes it especially since such articles prevent criticizing any government employee"

SDPF called on the federal court to scrap those articles in the journalism law that have been "inherited" from the former they "contradict the constitution especially that the article 13 of the constitution clearly states that no legal provision can be implemented that does not comply with the constitution"

By Raber Y. Aziz (AKnews)

22/06/2011 18:42

Imprisoned, abuse and almost drowned: one Kurd's tale of migration

Erbil, June 21 (Aknews) - It was August, 2008, when Shamal Mohamed, a young disabled Kurd from Erbil, decided he no longer wanted to stay in his native Kurdistan and resolved to make his way to Europe. He had no hope of entering legitimately and so would have to enlist the help of a smuggler.

For Shamal, it had long been his dream to live in those distant and prosperous lands. One of his brothers had already made it to Britain and many of his cousins and relatives were living abroad. Perhaps they could help him achieve his goal. After all, he was just another Kurdish man who wanted to ride the wave of immigration to Europe.

His journey would be made all the more difficult by the fact that both of his legs hardly function and he can't walk or even stand without his crutches.

He set off by traveling to Turkey legally using his passport. He tried to cross into Greece through dangerous routes and aided by smugglers.

"We set out in a 4-meter long boat with 16 crammed people in it. But the weather was very bad that night, so we had to turn back. As we reached the Turkish coast Turkish authorities raided our place, they [the other migrants] all ran away, but I couldn't run because of my legs."

He was detained and deported to Kurdistan. Not deterred, he tried again, but was once more captured and sent back to his homeland. Still determined to make it through he tried three more times but was repelled and pushed back into Turkey.

Shamal had to spend one week in a Turkish jail. He suffered verbal abuse due to his being a migrant – but others were treated worse, he says, he was spared the harshest treatement due to his disability.

He was only freed after he identified himself as a Palestinian because "they wouldn't deport Palestinians, they would release them inside Turkey and give them an allotted time to leave the county by."

"I was caught up in Istanbul for three months in hiding, because the trafficker lied to us. He would constantly say tomorrow or the day after tomorrow we will set out, that's how he kept us there."

On his sixth attempt he once again attempted to get across by boat. The tiny boat that was carrying him through the treacherous waters wasn't up to the task.

"The boat began to sink. I had a life vest, so I quickly took it out and started filling it with air. But I couldn't completely fill it because the boat was sinking fast so I put it on anyway."

Luckily the Greek coastguard was scrambled and came to their aid, scooping Shamal out of the water and saving his life. He was carried by them to the Greek shore, the shore of Europe. But his troubles weren't over yet.

In a bid to make it to Germany he had to pass through several other countries, all of whom had no interest in allowing him in. He sometimes had to use extreme measures to cross the borders. To get into Italy "I hung under a truck, next to the gas tank. I stayed there for hours and hours before we made it to Italy."

In France, he had to sleep in a toilet because he had no place to stay and was running out of money to complete his journey.

After months of struggle he made it to Kiel in Germany, in doing so he spent $10,000. A sum that could have been used to establish a decent business in Kurdistan. But Shamal was one of the lucky ones. Others didn't make it through in one piece. "I met one Kurdish family from Zakho, on the Turkish border, who later made it to Germany who had lost their baby on the journey."

During the 1990s, Kurdistan was undergoing major political and economic upheavals due to the sanctions imposed on Iraq, and the civil war that tore through the region. Thousands of Kurds started to immigrate to Europe as well as countries like Australia, Canada and the U.S.

These people were lured by the stories of successful immigrants who sent bucket loads of dollars and pounds to their families in Kurdistan, and deceived by the smugglers' tales of how easy it was to reach these countries paved with gold, and how getting asylum there was even easier.

What they were not told was that the journey was a long and perilous one, with the possibility of getting robed, beaten or jailed, or in some cases dying on the road.

Now that Shamal is in Germany with a permanent resident status, he looks back on his days in Kurdistan with nostalgia. "I miss my parents, whom I love so much, and my friends. I love my country and my homeland very much."

"Kurdistan will always stay my country." But he cannot even come back to visit Kurdistan because he has been waiting for a German citizenship and he does not have the Iraqi documents anymore. "I dumped it into the water when I was crossing into Greece."

By Raber Y. Aziz
RA/PS

21/06/2011 21:05

Iraqi refugees detained in Malaysia await deportation

21/06/2011 13:35 Sulaimaniyah, June 21 (AKnews) - About 500 Iraqi refugees - mostly Kurds - currently detained in one of Malaysia's refugee camps, are expected to be forcibly deported soon, says a refugee activist group.

The refugees have been waiting in the Malaysian camp to be resettled in Australia, but have been refused refugee status unless they register with the UNCHR and claim asylum legally, according to the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR).

"According to our reports, Australia has signed a protocol with Malaysia to forcibly deport the 500 refugees by boat to Baghdad," said IFIR secretary Amanj Abdullah.

Malaysia is currently home to 93,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR, among them are 710 Iraqis.

"Australia has announced it will not take refugees who come from a country where there is no political conflict," Abdullah told AKnews. If implemented, Malaysia joins UK, Norway, Sweden and Finland who have been sending back mainly Kurdish refugees in recent years.  The IFIR has warned that some 70 Kurds from the UK are expected to be deported today.

Thousands of Iraqis fled the sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007 before the warring parties finally laid down arms to engage in the political process in 2008. The beginning of the Kurdish migration, however, goes a little further back to the 1990s when the former Iraqi regime waged a murderous campaign against the Kurds . Now, with a relative restoration of order, Iraq has been declared a non conflict zone by former asylum-granting countries.

Refugee Swap Deal

Australia announced in early May that it had reached an agreement with the Malaysian government whereby Australia would send some 800 refugees currently held in its detention centers, to Malaysian camps for their applications to be processed. In return, Australia would take 4,000 refugees registered by the UNHCR.

The Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard hailed the deal as a solution to the people-smuggling trade, by rendering "nugatory what people smugglers try to sell".

Kurdish migration to Australia has exploded in recent years. According to STATT Consulting, a Hong Kong-based global NGO working on transnational issues, over 1,000 Kurdish refugees have arrived in Australia by boat since 2009.

The explosion in migration came alongside government change in migration policies. In 2007-2008, when controls were much tighter, only 4 Kurdish refugees made it to Australia. In 2009, however, 139 Kurds arrived on Australian territories as the government's policy on illegal immigrants softened. The figure reached its peak in 2010 when over 800 Kurdish immigrants arrived in Australia by boat.

During the first three months of 2011, over 340 Kurds illegally arrived in the country forcing the Gillard administration to tighten procedures on illegal immigration and put an end to the flow of immigrants.

Since the government of Australia announced the new refugee swap deal with Malaysia in May, the number of illegal Kurdish immigrants reaching the country dropped to almost zero.

The UNHCR, which had harshly criticized the deal when it was announced by the Australian government, has now backed off, saying the Australian government has made significant changes after the Australian Immigration Minister, Chris Bown, said earlier this month that decisions on unaccompanied minors would be made on a case by case basis.

"These are extremely important protection principles for the UNHCR, which we continue to discuss with both governments," UNHCR said in a statement on Sunday.

By Raber Y. Aziz, contribution by Dilshad Saifaddin

Baghdad awaits arrival of 70 deported Kurdish refugees from Britain

Erbil, June 18 (AKnews) – The UK government is planning to deport some 70 Kurdish refugees – due to arrive in Baghdad this week - amid criticism from refugee groups.

The deportations come as refugee groups have warned that the lives of the refugees will be put at risk by sending them back to Iraq where they had fled violence and life threats.

"On June 21, 70 Kurdish refugees will be forcibly deported from Britain to Baghdad airport," Dashti Jamal, secretary of the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR) told AKnews.

On Wednesday the UK government deported some 16 Kurdish refugees who landed in Baghdad airport. According to the IFIR, some 250 Iraqi refugees mainly Kurds have been deported from Europe this year, and some 700 others are awaiting the same fate.

IFIR's Kurdistan-based official Amanj Abdullah has said the Iraqi government signed a deal with European countries wanting to deport Iraqis in return for dropping Iraqi debts. Other countries that started forced deportations via Baghdad in 2005 are Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.

Some 5,000 to 6,000 Iraqi refugees, most of them Kurds, have been deported from Europe since 2005, according to IFIR figures.

In May, Swedish ambassador to Iraq Karl Magnus denied claims of a behind-the-curtains deal between Sweden and Iraq to deport Iraqis in return for loans being dropped. He did not, however, deny the deportations.

"What is circulated in the media about a deal… to deport Iraqis is not true," Ambassador Magnus told AKnews, adding that, "we reject asylum only to Kurds because the Kurdistan Region is enjoying security and economic stability therefore Kurdish Iraqi citizens do not need asylum in our country."

A UK Border Agency spokesman, however, said to the BBC in August 2010: "Currently we have an agreement with the government of Iraq to return all Iraqi citizens to Baghdad".

"Deported Refugees Exposed to Danger"

A statement posted on the website of the National Coalition of Anti Deportation Campaigns, a refugee group, says that many of those who have been deported to Iraq are now living in hiding, in fear of persecution because "most of them are from the disputed areas" and had originally fled from the violence there.

The disputed areas are those territorially contested between the regional government of Kurdistan and Baghdad. Many of the insurgent groups like al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq, and Naqishbandi group are active in these volatile regions.

 "This number includes women and children as well. Three of those refugees to be deported have gone on a hunger strike and have not eaten anything for the past three days," the IFIR secretary said.

On June 24, some 24 Iraqi refugees, most of them Kurds, in Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre, UK, went on strike as the UK government said it was preparing to send them back to Iraq.

Among the 70 Kurds to be deported is a young Kurdish man from Iraq's volatile province of Dyala, Adam Aziz, who has been living in the UK for almost four years with his partner Joanne. They were planning to marry before authorities caught up with him to announce his deportation.

UNHCR has voiced concerns regarding the forced deportations to Iraq on several occasions. In January, the UNHCR's Melissa Fleming said "Our position reflects the volatile security situation and the still high level of prevailing violence, security incidents, and human rights violations taking place in these parts of Iraq."

"UNHCR considers that serious – including indiscriminate – threats to life, physical integrity or freedom resulting from violence or events seriously disturbing public order are valid reasons for international protection" she said.

Iraq's Immigration Minister Dindar Doski, a Kurd, told AKnews that Iraq cannot do anything to press the UK government to stop deporting Iraqi refugees, "because those countries are independent countries with their own laws and do not care what we want."

"To be forcibly deported to Iraq these refugees must have been refused asylum by the countries." Doski said.

Doski suggested that the refugees with failed asylum cases should take advantage of the financial support given by the UK government to those voluntarily returning.

"After the refugees refuse to return to their own countries or leave the host country, the country's authorities will forcibly deport them to Iraq and they will also lose the financial assistance which is up to US$15,000 because they do not leave the country normally."

By Raber Y. Aziz, additional reporting by Fryad Mohammed (AKnews)

18/06/2011 22:10

Turkey: Ocalan extends PKK ceasefire

Erbil, June 18 (Aknews) – The imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, has ordered the extension a ceasefire he declared nearly a year ago to give the Turkish authorities another chance to engage in talks to come up with a solution to the country's Kurdish issue, reports Turkish newspaper the Sabah daily.

Ocalan's lawyers said their client has called for an extension of the ceasefire despite his threat in May to resume the armed conflict with the Turkish state if the Turkish authorities did not agree to enter talks with the PKK.

The paper quotes Ocalan's lawyers as saying the leader is continuing talks with state officials to reach a solution to the Kurdish issue through "a democratic constitution"

The PKK was formed in South-east Turkey by Abdullah Ocalan in 1978.

Formerly a peaceful group made up of students, the PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.

The group has been fighting for greater political and cultural rights for Turkey's 20 million Kurds for nearly three decades.

Around 45,000 people have died in the war against the Turkish military so far, many of them civilians.

Ocalan was arrested in Nairobi in 1999 and is still imprisoned under Turkish custody on the remote Imrali Island.

Since this time, the PKK's struggle has been continued on the political arena

Turkey has officially refused to negotiate with the PKK which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the U.S.

PKK spokesman Ahmet Deniz told AKnews last week that the PKK was waiting for the orders of their leader as to whether they would extend their ceasefire or not.

The PKK has declared 8 unilateral ceasefires over the years in favor of finding peaceful means to resolve the issue,  but the Turkish state - which along with the US and the EU lists the organization as a "terrorist group - has officially refused to enter into negotiations with them.

Ocalan, along with other pro-Kurdish groups, have been calling for reforms to the Turkish constitution that recognize their Kurdish identity, give them the right to education in their mother tongue and provide them with 'democratic autonomy'- a form of self-rule.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Teyyip Erdogan who's party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) secured him a second term in office (the AKP's 3rd consecutive term), in the June 12 elections, has promised to write a new constitution.

However, having won 326 seats in the 550-member parliament, the AKP fell short of the 367 seat quota to be able to unilaterally draft a new constitution. Erdogan will now need the backing of other parties for the purpose including the Kurds who secured 36 seats.

The Kurds have repeatedly announced that they will not give their vote to a rewritten constitution that fails to address their demands.

Written by Raber Y. Aziz, reporting by Abdulqadir al-Wandawi

Ka/AKnews

Wedding massacre gang sentenced to death

Baghdad, June 16 (AKnews) – 15 of the 34 perpetrators of what has become known as the Dujail wedding massacre have been sentenced to death by hanging by Iraq's criminal court, the Judicial Council said.

Judicial Council spokesman Abdulsalam al-Bairaqdar told AKnews that the criminal court sentenced to death 15 of the insurgents found guilty of the crime including leader -  "the terrorist Firas al-Jubbouri" -  under the terror law.

The death sentences come after Iraqi President Jalal Talabani - who has always refused to sign death warrants on moral grounds - authorized his deputy, Khudair al-Khuzaie, to sign them in his place.

Talabani is well-known for his objection to capital penalty - he famously refused to sign the warrant for the hanging of Saddam Hussein, who was responsible for the murder of thousands of his fellow Kurds and against whom he led a guerrilla war.

The President's decision to give his deputy signatory rights came after intense pressure from the political blocs and the Iraqi public to bring the perpetrators of "terror" crimes against the population to justice.

On Friday, hundreds of protestors took to the streets of Baghdad calling for the execution of Firas al-Jubbouri and his accomplices.

The worst attack the al-Qaeda affiliated group had carried out was the systematic killing of a wedding party celebrating the marriage of a Shiite man and a Sunni woman in the town of Taji, north of Baghdad, before disposing of their bodies in the Tigris river.

The murders came as confessional violence was raging throughout Iraq, with tens of thousands having died in 2006 and 2007 as a result of the brutal sectarian war.

Police said the insurgents first detonated a bomb across the road the party was travelling along, so as to force them to travel along a side street.

They separated the women, the men, and the children and raped all the women, then hung massive weights around the necks of the 15 children, who were aged between two and 12 years old, and threw them in the river to drown, according to police accounts.

The new bride was raped in front of her husband, and all the men in the wedding party were made to stand along a bridge crossing the river, with each receiving a single gunshot to the back of their head and their bodies being flung into the water with the force of the bullet.

The bride was slashed in the chest and left to bleed to death.

Baghdad witnessed demonstrations of hundreds on Friday who called for the execution of the perpetrators of the Dujail massacre.

"The council will wait for 30 days until the period of appeal is over and then the court order to execute the 15 men by hanging will be passed to the presidency of Iraq for approval," Al-Bairaqdar said.

Written by Raber Y. Aziz, reported by Jafar al-Wannan, edited by Karl Allen (AKnews)

Syria’s Kurds want Assad out, says Kurdish leader

Erbil, June 16 (AKnews) – As the anti-government protest gain momentum, Syria's Kurds are now calling for President Bashar al-Assad to step down says a prominent Kurdish party chief – a change from their previous demand of political reforms.

Kurdish Democratic Union (KDU) leader Salih Muslim said that Syria's Kurds have been calling for political and cultural rights over the past four decades – but now it's time for Assad to go.

"The demonstrations and protests in Syria continue and the demands of Kurds have gone higher as they are now calling on the Baath to leave so that the Kurds alongside the Arabs like two nations can coexist in Syria and the rights of Kurds be secured," he said.

Since March 15, nation-wide protests against the 40-year Baathist rule in Syria have continued despite a bloody crackdown by the Syrian authorities.

International human rights groups say that more than 1,300 people have been killed to date, and over 10,000 arbitrarily arrested.

Under the Baath party rule, hundreds of thousands of Syrian Kurds were stripped of their Syrian citizenship.

Against the backdrop of the snowballing public protests against his regime, the Syrian President recently pledged to re-issue Syrian nationality documents for around 300,000 of the country's Kurds.

Observers believe that Assad's promise was to deter the country's two to three million Kurds from adding fuel to the uprising.

Muslim told AKnews that the current regime in Syria had to change; the Kurds must be given their identity documents, be allowed to join the political process and be accorded a voice in reforming the constitution.

The Baath party has unilaterally ruled Syria for four decades during which time any form of political opposition has been outlawed.

The Kurds have been one of the fiercest opponents of the Syrian regime since the Baath Party took power nearly half a century ago. Headed by Bashar al-Assad's father, Hafez, in 1963, the Baathists imposed an emergency law that effectively suspended most constitutional protection for citizens.

 "Even abroad, apart from the members of the Kurdish parties, there is nobody to identify themselves as opposition except for some intellectuals and writers who defy the Syrian regime through their writings," Muslim said.

After "the fall" of the Syrian regime, the Kurds must participate in the country's political process from the presidency to the provincial councils, the Kurdish politician continued, "And they need to have their own Kurdish identity and live in a Kurdish region."

There are no accurate statistics on the numbers of Kurds in Syria, but unofficial figures suggest there are between two and three million, accounting for 10-17% of the country's population.

Written BY Raber Y. Aziz, reported by Karzan Karim, edited by Karl Allen (AKnews)

16/06/2011 11:00

PKK hails Turkish poll “great victory” for Kurds

Erbil, June 13 (AKnews) – A spokesman for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said on Monday that the Kurds, represented by the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), achieved a "great victory" in Turkey's election by increasing their representation in parliament.

The PKK's foreign relations officer, Ahmet Deniz, said that the BDP will now present a real opposition to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Prime Minister Recep Teyyip Erdogan, who secured a third term in power.

Independent candidates, representing the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in the country's predominantly Kurdish southeast, polled 5.9% of the national vote (36 seats), failing however to assure a seat in the National Assembly which under the Turkish electoral system, requires a minimum 10% vote.

The AKP fell short of its 330 seat target in Sunday's poll which would have allowed the AKP to unilaterally re-write the Turkish constitution, the 49.9% victory affords the party 326 seats in the 550-seat house.

The Republican People's Party (CHP), the main opposition, bagged 25.9% of the votes - 135 seats – while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) came away with 13% which gives them 53 seats.

"The BDP's victory is great, because there were big challenges facing them and they were under pressure," said Deniz, "the state cooperated with all parties except the BDP, yet the BDP was able to secure 36 seats for its 43 candidates, thus raising Kurdish representation in parliament."

"Now the task of BDP is even greater. They have to focus on two points; changing the Turkish constitution and finding a solution to the Kurdish issue in the country".

Deniz said the Turkish state needs to change its constitution - long criticized by the country's Kurds for failing to recognize their cultural and political rights - because it is not democratic.

The Kurds want the new Turkish constitution to recognize a form of 'democratic autonomy' in the predominantly Kurdish southeast as well as addressing wider issues such as the recognition of a 'Kurdish identity' or the right to education in the Kurdish language.

"The Kurdish issue is a constitutional one that needs to be addressed. Not resolving it will bring about big complications," Deniz said.

In his victory speech, Erdogan was quick to evoke the question of replacing the constitution introduced under martial law in 1982.

"We will discuss the new constitution with opposition parties. This new constitution will meet peace and justice demands," he declared.

Erdogan's opponents say however that the AKP wants to re-write the constitution in order to reinforce its hold on power, and that the Prime Minister is seeking to afford the country's presidency - a post they accuse him of coveting - more executive powers.

The PKK was formed in South-east Turkey by Abdullah Ocalan in 1978.
Formerly a peaceful group made up of students, the PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.
The group has been fighting for greater political and cultural rights for Turkey's 20 million Kurds for nearly three decades.

Around 40,000 people have died in the war against the Turkish military so far, many of them civilians.

Ocalan was arrested in Nairobi in 1999 and is still imprisoned under Turkish custody on the remote Imrali Island.

Since this time, the PKK's struggle has been continued on the political arena

Turkey has officially refused to negotiate with the PKK which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the U.S.

Written by Raber Y. Aziz, reported by Sarbaz Salih

Ka/AKnews

Barzani "concerned" about feuding bloc leaders

Erbil, June 13(AKnews) – Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani is said to be concerned about Iraq's political process and has called on rivaling political blocs to settle their disputes through dialogue.

Presidential office head, Fuad Hussein, said Barzani was particularly worried about the ongoing row between the two major political blocs led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

Tensions between the two leaders came to a head on Friday when a group of pro-Maliki demonstrators, calling for the execution of the perpetrators of the al-Dujail wedding massacre, clashed with anti-Maliki protesters in Baghdad.

Maliki's supporters were allegedly paid by the government to chant pro-Maliki slogans.

The two groups eventually clashed and Maliki's supporters ripped and burned Allawi's photos and struck them with their shoes, a highly disrespectful gesture in Arab Culture.

Yesterday the al-Iraqiya bloc expressed outrage at the burning of photos of its leader with spokesman Shaker Kattab describing the act as "unacceptable".

The Sunni-backed al-Iraqiya list then announced yesterday its boycott of parliamentary sessions following a brawl between the list's spokesman and a leader in the State of Law Coalition (SLC) led by Prime Minister Maliki.

The scuffle is said to have broken out when a leader from the State of Law (SLC), Kamal al-Saadi, allegedly hit al-Iraqiya spokesman, Haider al-Mulla, with his walking stick.

Hussein said these tensions pose a serious threat to the political process and the country's security.

Al-Iraqiya, led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, narrowly beat Maliki's State of Law Coalition in the March 2010 elections but Maliki controversially overcame Allawi's list by forming a super-bloc, the National Coalition (NC), with the Sadrist Current after the results of the poll were announced.

Following a nine-month political impasse with both leaders refusing to relinquish claim to the country's leadership, Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani stepped in with a model for a national unity government and a power-sharing deal.

Under the agreements signed in Erbil, Maliki and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani – a Kurd – were to retain their offices for a second term, while al-Iraqiya leader Ayad Allawi, who secured a narrow majority of votes in the elections, would head a new executive body called the National Council for Strategic Policies (NCSP) as an attempt to maintain balance.

With the NCSP still un-formed six months after the Erbil accord was signed, the al-Iraqiya list has several times threatened to withdraw from the partnership government, accusing Maliki of monopolizing power and failing to implement all terms of the deal.

This view was also shared by the Kurds. MP Mahmoud Othman accused the government of failing to honor the prerequisite demands of the Kurdistan Blocs Coalition (KBC), submitted to the feuding political blocs in September 2010.

"None of the 19 demands handed to Maliki have been implemented," Othman said on June 6, "…the most important of which are the application of article 140, the hydrocarbon law and the Peshmarga issue".

Article 140 outlines a three-stage process to resolving the disputes over areas contested by the Kurdistan Regional Government and the central government in Baghdad.

In recent weeks, a number of Iraqi politicians, most notably from among the leadership of al-Iraqiya, have appealed to President Barzani to intervene once more and oblige the political blocs to adhere to the terms of the Erbil accord.

 "Part of Barzani's initiative has not been implemented," Hussein said, "and it is up to the political blocs to resolve that".

Written by Raber Y. Aziz, reported by Fryad Mohammed

Ka/AKnews

Al-Iraqiya outraged by burning of leader’s photo

Baghdad, June 11 (AKnews) – The Sunni-backed al-Iraqiya bloc led by former interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi expressed outrage at the burning of Allawi's photos in the pro-government protests in Baghdad on Friday.
 
Al-Iraqiya spokesman Shaker Kattab described the burning of Allawi's photo as "unacceptable", saying that the protesters should abide by an ethical code of conduct concerning their opponents.
 
On Friday, pro-government demonstrators along with supporters of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa party, took to the streets after tribal leaders called for the execution of the perpetrators of the al-Dujail incident – a 70-member wedding party that was wiped out by al-Qaeda agents.
 
The demonstration was soon followed by a second rally.

Several hundred protestors took to the streets of Baghdad - at the end of a 100-day period set by Maliki for his cabinet to improve its performance - calling for government officials to step down and criticizing Maliki's performance so far.

The two groups eventually clashed and the Maliki's supporters ripped and burned Allawi's photos and struck them with their shoes, a gesture considered highly disrespectful in Arab Culture.

"The al-Iraqiya list condemns the burning of photos of the list's leader, Ayad Allawi, in the Tahrir Square" said Kattab, "this is unacceptable in the same way as the misconducts and abuses chanted by the protesters against the Prime Minister in the previous demos."

 "The government should have dealt with the protesters by receiving their demands and putting them into a short-term or long-term political program," said Kattab, "we were hoping the protesters would be received and their demands be listened to contrary to what happened which really disappointed us."
 
Written by Raber Y. Aziz, reported by Yazn al-Shammari (AKnews)

Syria: Kurdish activists call for mass Friday protests

Erbil, June 9 (AKnews) - Kurdish activists in Syria are calling on the country's Kurds to take to the streets for what they have dubbed the "Friday of Tribes" – in a show of solidarity with anti-government protestors across the country.

The Syrian protests, calling for an end to the Baath party's 40 year rule, have gained momentum over the past three months despite the government's aggressive and internationally-condemned crackdown.

The Federation of Syrian-Kurdish Youth Movements issued a statement today urging all components of Syria's population; Kurds and Arabs; Christians, Muslims and tribal factions, to stage "massive and effective demonstrations on the Friday of Tribes" in solidarity with "our people in Hamat, Der al-Zur and all other Syrian cities".

"The Baath regime is still dealing with the peaceful popular uprising with unprecedented, indiscriminate cruelty and violence," the statement reads, "with no exceptions being made for women and children".

The statement calls at the same time on the protestors to "be disciplined and committed to national interests".

Rights groups report that around 1,300 people have been killed in the government's crackdown on dissent so far, and more than 10,000 arbitrarily arrested.

Reports from either side are virtually impossible to verify as the government has imposed a ban on all foreign media in Syria.

On Tuesday, three of Syria's 12 Kurdish parties announced that they would join in the protests calling for an end to the despotic rule of the Assad family - the first official instance of Kurdish parties expressing their support for the uprising.

Over the past few weeks, thousands of Kurds in the north east of the country have taken to the streets in protest against the Syrian regime.

Last week, Britain and France submitted a draft bill to the UN's Security Council that strongly condemns the Syrian government's use of violence against the protestors.

Although it is not expected to contain recommendations of military intervention, the draft is believed to be a bid to generate enough support in the 15-member council to prevent major opponents to UN action in Syria - Russia and China - to veto the resolution.
 
Written by Raber Y. Aziz - reported by Abdullah Sabri (AKnews) – edited by Karl Allen

09/06/2011 15:26